


sleep talking

by Marvellous



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 17:35:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21497923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvellous/pseuds/Marvellous
Summary: Dennis had a habit of talking in his sleep.
Relationships: Mac McDonald/Dennis Reynolds
Comments: 6
Kudos: 91





	sleep talking

**Author's Note:**

> just a little thing i wrote on a road trip...
> 
> all mistakes are my own.

More often than not, Mac woke up at quarter after four in the morning. Not because he wanted to, but because his bladder just was not what it used to be. Unfortunately. 

That meant every morning, while the world outside was still dark he had to sneak through Dennis’ room to use their bathroom. Mac was always cautious about making too much noise, not even shutting the door all the way and always avoided flushing the toilet, even though Dennis would give him hell for it the next day.

Generally his little trips to the bathroom were over and done with and he was on his way back to bed in no time at all. 

Sometimes, though…sometimes he lingered. 

Dennis had a habit of talking in his sleep, and since he’d come back from North Dakota, Mac couldn’t remember a night where he had been completely still or silent when he tiptoed through his room. Always tossing and turning, murmuring incoherent words or just distressed noises. It never sounded like he was having a good time. 

On the nights it was particularly bad, Mac would watch Dennis for a little while until he settled. The bathroom light always stayed on. Dennis left the door cracked and Mac knew it helped him sleep, at least, a little bit. It also meant there was some light shed into the bedroom as Mac leaned in the doorway and watched Dennis’ restless movements.

This particular night, however, as Mac had his cheek pressed to the rough wood trim of the doorframe and his eyes drooped, he noted there was something different about Dennis’ tone of voice. 

A little more frantic. More wavered. And then, his name.

“Mac?” he called out.

Mac winced. 

He was fairly sure he’d heard his name in the mumblings before, but it was never clear like that. So much so that he figured Dennis woke up and caught him staring.

But Dennis was still asleep as far as Mac could see. 

And then it sounded like…crying?

Mac worried at his bottom lip. When he had first noticed Dennis struggling, he had looked up if there was anything he could do to help him, and he did remember something saying you shouldn’t wake people up if they're having a nightmare. 

So his strategy had been to make Dennis’ day to day life more pleasant. Mac tried as hard as he could, but Dennis didn’t sleep easier. He came to the conclusion there was only so much he could do, and that Dennis had to come to some realizations in his own time. If he never did, well, Mac would still be there for him. Always. 

Now though…now Mac had a strong urge to intervene. The sniffling was turning into heaving sobs and he still wasn't awake, and Mac just had a feeling he could make it better. Maybe.

“Dennis?” Mac tried softly, walking closer to the bed.

No change.

Slowly, Mac knelt down beside the mattress and frowned at the pained look on Dennis’ sleeping face. He found himself swallowing around a lump in his throat as he reached a hand to brush some of the messy curls from Dennis’ forehead. 

“Den?” he tried again, voice shaky.

Dennis’ blue eyes flew open as some tears caught the stray light from the bathroom. His pupils were blown and he was looking at Mac, but he wasn’t. 

“Hey, hey, you okay, man?” Mac asked quietly.

“Mac? Mac…Mac…” Dennis breathed disbelievingly, and the tears started anew as he brushed the tips of his fingers over Mac’s cheek, “You’re here. How did you…get, how did you get here?”

“I’m always here, Dennis,” Mac assured crossing his arms on the mattress and leaning his head to the side so he could look at Dennis’ face the right way. He smiled at him a little, “Always here for you.” 

Dennis tried to smile, but his sleep hazed mind made his eyes close again, voice slurred as his hand went limp on top of Mac’s forearm, “Mac. My Mac, my baby boy. Shoulda never left you.”

“You came back. It’s all cool now,” Mac whispered.

“No it is not,” Dennis choked out, eyes still closed as he shifted to his stomach, “Not…cause, I’m not…and you’re-I just lo-so much, I can’t, but-”

“Shh,” Mac soothed as he rubbed a hand over Dennis’ back, an attempt to stop the spiralling. 

“Stay,” Dennis hummed pleadingly, eyes opening again, and Mac thought maybe there was less of a disoriented look in them. It could have been a trick of the light. 

“I’ll stay,” Mac nodded.

Tugging Mac onto the bed with him, Dennis made a gesture of his head before instructing, “On top. Please.”

Mac’s eyes widened, but he did as Dennis said, laying half on top of him, careful to position himself so his weight wouldn’t be crushing.

Dennis hooked their legs together and smiled at the feel of Mac’s breath on the back of his neck. “Night, Mac,” he breathed into his pillow.

Staying awfully still, Mac was the one who was trying to suppress all the emotions bubbling in his chest, “Sweet dreams, Den….uh, love you.”

Dennis huffed in response, but only relaxed further under the comfortable weight surrounding him. 

And maybe Mac woke before Dennis at ten after nine in the morning, and maybe he slipped out before Dennis realized. Perhaps Dennis woke up feeling well rested for the first time in a long while, and maybe he wrote it all off due to a weirdly realistic dream his shit brain decided to conjure up. Maybe they didn’t talk about it.

**Author's Note:**

> perhaps i'm projecting onto dennis with my nighttime habits (doing things i write off as dreams? yah, thats me)...what about it
> 
> kudos/comments always much appreciated <3


End file.
